Im trying to find out for a report that i am writing, why film gets damage due to
marking the end of reels.

From reading this forum it is seen that every one has a high level of presentation
skills. It seems that no one would damage a film by leaving tipex all over it, and mark
the joins in way that causes poor presentation.

Unfortunately lots of films arrive at are cinema in poor condition covered in, tipex,
chinagraph and sticky labels covering all four sound tracks.

What i want to know is how do these prints get like this. Is due to inexperienced
projectionists, projectionists that were not properly trained, or projectionist that just don't
care, etc.?

Please can i have your views, and any possible links to literature regarding this
subject.

A properly returned reel should be heads up, with all heads and tails spliced back on with splicing tape, and all cues removed. No shoe polish or any markings on the picture area should ever be used or done.

Most unfortunately, ALL THREE REASONS are true in many many cases.

Aaron

But, more specific to your question, people have done all kinds of things to mark the reel ends. I’ve seen masking tape, transparent tape, duct tape. I’ve seen all of those used to either just get the head/tails to stay together; I’ve also seen them used to actually splice the film in a splicer. (I had staples, too!) China markers, felt-tipped pens, small round stickers, a heavy scratch across the frame, yellow colored tape, a hole punched, edge-painting (w/ shoe polish or other pen-like applicators) have all been used to mark the splice.

As for shoe polish, believe it or not, when Terri Smith was first giving the Kodak presentations to theatres, it was an accepted practice. There was one type of polish or dye that didn't flake off as badly as others, and a short strip of that on the edge was thought preferrable to the hash marks and other methods that were also used at the time.

I used a tiny self adhesive tab folded-over the sprocket area, and sometimes a sound bloop until I realized that with tape splices and on platters it wasn't needed. The edges of the film have enough difference from reel to reel that they can be told apart on platters where one side of the film is exposed (unintentional pun).

With 5K and 6K floating hub reels it was almost impossible to see the film clearly enough to hit the mark every time, and often the ends of the films had multiple splices from theatres that either couldn't do a changeover right or let the end of the reel flap or get caught. The little adhesive tab gave just enough bump that I could find the splice. Good wet splices could be hard to find compared to tape splices.

As for the stuff going on with platter jockeys ripping film apart, there is no excuse.

The second may have to do with the lack of a motivator for doing it right, and one which is fairly common in workplaces where the work quality is poor: working at a theater which devalues worth & attacks your dignity, & for low pay, to boot. It's not just passive, either: actively doing a rotten job at work is a form of assertion & rebellion.

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Check out all 56 back issues of Kodak's "Film Notes for Reel People" and the more recent "Cinema Notes" in the "Manuals" section of Film-Tech. Each issue usually had at least one article regarding proper film handling.

Another excellent resource is Kodak publication H-23 "The Book of Film Care".

A wealth of other information is available free on the Kodak website:
Kodak Motion Picture Films
Free Kodak Newsletters
Film Storage
Student Handbook Projection
Film Damage
Kodak ScreenCheck Training Program

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Sorry I didn't make myself clear in the first post. I have worked as a projectionist for 4 years now, so I know how the film gets damaged. What I want to know is who damages them. I was trained to respect the film and every projectionist I know treats the film with respect to, in theory no prints should arrive with tipex over the picture and sound tracks, but it happens all the time. Is this due to lack of training on some companies behalf, or inexperienced floor staff left to show the film, or bad training practise which is feed from chief to trainee who then goes onto train himself.

What are your experances.

All of the above.